The Tape
by Krysnel Nicavis
Summary: It's Christmas at the Burrow the first after Voldemort's defeat. The whole family is gathered, a cheerful stranger deliveres a mysterious gift for Mr & Mrs Weasley, and a ... video tape?


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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**The Tape**

December, 24th, 1999

It was Christmas Eve at the Burrow, and Arthur Weasley surveyed his family. Over the years he and his wife, Molly, had gained children – through marriage and friendships. But he secretly felt sadness as he thought of the son they'd lost. While it had only been two and a half years since their third son had been reported missing, it was over four since they'd lost him.

It was the month before eldest son Bill's wedding when Arthur had been approached at work and asked if he had heard from Percy. As it later turned out, the Puddlemere United keeper, Oliver Wood, and one of the chasers from the Ballycastle Bats, Marcus Flint, were also missing.

At present, Bill's wife, Fleur, was pregnant with their first child. Their youngest son, Ron, was engaged to Hermione Granger. And their daughter, Ginny, was engaged to Harry Potter. It had been only after the last of Voldemort's horcruxes had been found and destroyed – and Voldemort himself destroyed – that, in many opinions, Ron seen the light and realized he loved Hermione. It wasn't long before Harry proposed to Ginny, and the four were planning on a double wedding the following August.

The family was all crowded into the living room of the Burrow, after thoroughly enjoying the Christmas Eve feast that the 'Weasley Women' had prepared. Arthur smiled at the laughter as Fred and George recounted the latest experimental failure for their joke shop – something involving a duck, purple britches, and a fog horn.

Just as Molly suggested they all take turns opening one gift ("and only one gift, mind"), there was a knock at the door. Charlie, the second oldest, volunteered to answer it as it was decided who would open which gift.

"Hello," said a young man as Charlie opened the door.

"Hello," Charlie replied. The young man looked to be around Charlie's age and beside him, sitting on the porch, was sitting a rather large box wrapped in green paper that had the print of a cartoon Great-Dane in a Santa hat and a dog-tag with the initials "SD" on its collar. "Can I help you?"

The young man grinned. "I have a special delivery for," he glanced and the card on the box, "Arthur and Molly Weasley." He looked back up at Charlie. "I have strict instructions to give this straight to them and make sure they open it tonight."

"One moment," Charlie said as he went back into the living room. "Dad, there's a chap at the door with a gift for you and mum. He says you have to open it tonight."

Arthur stood up and went to the door, followed closely by his wife. "Hello there, young man. My name is Arthur Weasley, and just who might you be?" He held out his hand, which the young man shook.

"Oh, my name's Dominick, sir, Dominick Carpe. And I'm under strict instructions to ensure this gift reaches you. I've also been ordered by the gift-givers that I am to remain here until it has been opened, and between you and me, I don't want to face the consequences of not doing as told."

"Alright, but I don't know how you're going to get it through the door," Arthur said as he eyed the large package.

"If you would show me where in the house I can apparate to, I can take it in that way." Once they were all standing in the living room, everyone eyeing the gift interestedly, Charlie addressed Dominick.

"You don't sound like you're from around here."

Dominick grinned again. "Indeed, I am quite a long way from home actually. I live on the West Coast of Canada. My friend was running late and asked if I could go on ahead of him to deliver this on time."

"Canada?" one of the twins asked, looking strangely at the newcomer. "If you're Canadian, how come you don't have that odd accent?"

Dominick's grin widened. "That's a common misconception. The accent you're referring to is mainly native to the Eastern parts of Canada. Kind of like in the United States have Northern and Southern accents, we have Eastern and Western."

"So shall we see what's in this box?" Arthur asked as he and Molly both grabbed hold of the wrapping paper and began to tear it off the box.

"This certainly is an interesting print," Molly said as she inspected the wrapping paper.

"Yes, my friend's sons picked it out."

Arthur pulled the lid off the box and removed a piece of paper that lay on the top, reading it out loud. "_It seems as though I am running late, so I decided to include instructions of how to put this together. A simple 'Confero' spell should assemble everything_." He peered into the box and raised his wand.

"Uh, you may want to clear a space beside the box, perhaps near that wall," Dominick suggested. They did and Arthur performed the spell. Within moments, the entire contents of the box had removed and assembled itself in the cleared place.

"What is it?" Ron asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It's an entertainment system," Hermione exclaimed.

"What?" Ron asked with a blank expression on his face.

"An entertainment system – muggles use it as a way of amusing themselves," she clarified. At this explanation, Arthur became delightedly intrigued by the gift.

"But who sent it?" Molly asked as she turned to Dominick, only to find that Dominick was no longer there. "Where did he go?" Everyone searched the room and found no sign of the strange young man.

"Look, an owl," Ginny said as she went to the window. The owl was carrying a small package, less than half the size of a shoebox. "It's for mum and dad," she said as she read the tag attached to it. She handed it to her mother, who opened it. Inside was a box made of strange material and another note.

"_I hope you like your entertainment system; we got it to work off magic instead of electricity. This is something that goes with it, and will make the entertainment system more interesting. It's called a VHS or a tape. Hermione should be there so she'll show you how to use it._" Hermione took the strange box and opened it up, walking over to the entertainment system.

"It goes in here," she said, gesturing to what she called a _"video machine or VCR"_. "You put it in this way," she demonstrated and pushed a button on the _"television screen"_ before pressing another button on the VCR. The screen lit up and Arthur let out a delighted yelp. Everyone took seats to see what the muggle contraption would do. Everyone but Hermione and Harry were surprised when moving pictures came on the screen and made noise:

The screen displayed a young woman with long black hair sitting on a floor with two small identical boys with copper hair sitting on her lap. _"Wave to the camera,"_ she said, pointing out of the screen. The two boys waved.

"_Daddy, sing!"_ said one boy, looking off to the side. The other boy joined in. _"Sing, Daddy! Sing!"_

"_You want me to sing?"_ said a familiar male voice.

"_Yeah, sing Perce," _said another somewhat familiar male voice. The picture moved right and focused on the familiar face of the third eldest Weasley son.

"_No," _he said, a giant smile on his face as he half-heartedly tried to shield his face from the camera.

"_Pwease, Daddy?"_ said one of the little boys who had toddled into the frame. _"Pwease?"_

"_Oh, alright,"_ Percy said, pulling his son onto his lap before beginning to sing:

"_I'm dreaming tonight  
__Of a place I love  
__Even more than I usually do  
__And although I know  
__It's a long road back  
__I promise you"_

There were tears in Molly's eyes, and everyone watched the screen, fascinated. The person they seen on the screen was definitely Percy, but he was changed. He looked relaxed, and genuinely happy – something that no one could truly ever recall. The second little boy toddled into view and Percy pulled him onto his lap as well. Everyone watched as Percy sang to his sons.

"_I'll be home for Christmas  
__You can count on me  
__Please have snow, and mistletoe  
__And presents by the tree_

"_Christmas Eve will find me  
__Where the love light gleams  
__I'll be home for Christmas  
__If only in my dreams"_

Arthur hugged his wife, and the twin boys on the screen clapped and cheered. Percy smiled happily at them, and the black haired woman sat beside him, taking one of the boys into her lap before turning to kiss Percy.

"_Mommy, sing!"_ She laughed.

"_Mommy has a better idea, Daddy should sing again with Uncle Oliver and Uncle Marcus."_ Her statement was followed by a loud _"yeah"_ from the boys.

"_That is so unfair Kelsey,"_ said a male voice out of view. The camera moved to show none other than Marcus Flint – cuddled next to Dominick.

"_Oh, c'mon Marcus,"_ came the last yet unidentified familiar voice.

"_Give Marion the camera, Ol, they want you to sing too,"_ replied Marcus. The camera shook before focusing on Oliver Wood standing to one side of Percy, Marcus on the other. The boys cheered and the three men launched into an impressive rendition of _'O Holy Night'_. When they were finished, Percy kneeled down, his hugging his sons and facing them towards the camera. He whispered something in their ears that none could make out.

The boys looked into the camera and cheerily shouted: _"Mewwy Cwismas, Gamma an' Gampa!"_ Percy smiled at the camera and waved before the tape stopped. Molly sniffed and wiped her eye, everyone in the room was misting at the eyes, grinning at each other. Before anyone could say anything, they heard voices outside on the front yard. Everyone went out onto the porch to see who had come to call.

"_I'll be home for Christmas  
__You can count on me  
__Please have snow, and mistletoe  
__And presents by the tree"_

Percy stood there, one of his sons in his arms singing; his wife standing beside him holding their other son. Dominick stood to one side with Marcus, and Oliver stood to the other side with a woman who looked a bit like Percy's wife.

"_Christmas Eve will find me  
__Where the love light gleams  
__I'll be home for Christmas  
__If only in my dreams"_

Arthur walked towards his third son, an unreadable expression on his face. "Dad," Percy began, "I'm s-" his words were cut off as his father pulled him into a fierce hug. When Arthur let Percy go and took the little boy from Percy's arms as Molly rushed up to Percy and pulled him into another fierce hug. The rest of the family came down and introductions were made: Kelsey, his wife; Jaden and Karl their two and a half year old sons; Marion, Oliver's wife; and the biggest surprise, Dominick, Marcus' boyfriend.

There was conversation and laughter as the now very large group entered the Burrow – the family finally whole once again.

**- 30 -**

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**A/N:** I was listening to "I'll Be Home For Christmas" by Michael Buble when I wrote this.

Someone asked me why Oliver and Marcus were there. My answer? I really don't know, they just sort of showed up and stayed there.


End file.
